Effort to fire Imagine Schools fails in Sarasota

A Sarasota charter school board's effort to fire Imagine Schools as its management company has failed

The Herald-Tribune reports that the Virginia-based charter firm Imagine has ended its lawsuit against the board and principal of its North Port school, which had attempted to oust the company amid claims of mismanagement.

Imagine, which created the school and put lots of money into it, sued the local leadership. Ordered into mediation, the sides came out with a deal that left principal Justin Matthews out of a job at the end of the academic year, and Imagine firmly in control.

“All parties have amicably resolved their respective differences. All involved have decided it is in our students' and school community's best interest for Mr. Matthews to continue his exemplary career in educational leadership outside the Imagine Schools' family,” the sides said in a joint release.

How the outcome jibes with the state statute that empowers a charter school's governing body to "exercise continuing oversight over charter school operations" - and how it will affect other charter schools seeking to change their operations - remains to be seen.

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.